Big Country lawmakers support House bill that would quash Base Realignment and Closure

WASHINGTON — U.S. Reps. Mac Thornberry and Mike Conaway support a national defense bill before the House that would squelch a 2013 round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC).

The legislation, which sets defense policy and troop numbers for fiscal year 2013, packs a provision specifying that the Pentagon can't use federal dollars "to propose, plan for or execute" another round of base closures.

If enacted, the measure would essentially shut down efforts from the White House and the Department of Defense to review and possibly shutter bases in 2013 under the BRAC process.

"Not only did the bill not authorize another round of base closings, an amendment was added that says you cannot even plan for it," Thornberry, a Republican from Clarendon, said.

The prohibition would be in effect for fiscal year 2013, which is from Oct. 1, 2012, through Sept. 30, 2013, he said.

Thornberry is vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, which crafted the defense bill. The committee voted 44-18 to include the amendment to stop a 2013 round of BRAC in the national defense bill. The full House is expected to vote on the bill Friday.

Conaway, a Republican from Midland, also is a member of the committee.

"There will be future rounds of BRAC. It's just that it doesn't make sense to do one in 2013," Conaway said.

He said there's too much turmoil in the Department of Defense with budget cuts plus sequestration looming.

Defense is already slated for cuts mandated in the Budget Control Act approved in August, including $487 billion over 10 years across the Pentagon.

About $600 billion in across-the-board defense cuts could kick in because of sequestration — automatic budget caps — unless Congress takes action by January 2013.

U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, whose district includes Abilene, said he's supportive of the committee's work on BRAC.

"I share the concerns of many of my colleagues that the BRAC process may be producing diminishing returns, and we need to ensure this process will result in realized savings in the near future," Neugebauer, a Republican from Lubbock, said in a statement.

Thornberry and other lawmakers on both sides of the aisle protested when Obama proposed a 2013 BRAC round and a 2015 round because of budget cuts and a military slated to shrink.

A list of bases to be closed down in the 2013 round would be released by May 2013 under draft BRAC legislation from the Pentagon submitted to Congress in April.

Since the mid-1980s, Congress has used the BRAC process to downsize military installations. A round of BRAC has to be authorized by Congress. It involves setting up an independent BRAC commission to consider recommendations from the military.

The commission gives Congress its own set of recommendations for an up-or-down vote.

Lawmakers in opposition to a 2013 round point out that BRAC brings upfront costs for closure and realignment. The 2005 round of BRAC cost an estimated $37 billion. It isn't expected to show a net savings until 2018 at the earliest.

"Most of us on both sides of the aisle think it makes no sense to spend that extra money at this stage for another round of base closings," Thornberry said.

He said both the amendment and the bill had strong bipartisan support in committee, and Congress as a whole has approved a national defense bill for the last 50 years.

He said it's uncertain whether the amendment will be included in the final version of the legislation.

The Senate Armed Services Committee is slated to begin work on its version of the national defense bill next week.

Neugebauer added that the bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation that comes before Congress because it ensures troops have the tools they need to defend the country.

The 1,050-page national defense bill would authorize $554 billion for defense over the coming year and $88 billion for the Afghanistan War and counterterrorism efforts. The funding level is almost $4 billion more than the White House is seeking.

The bill includes a 1.7 percent pay increase for troops and rejects proposals from Obama to ratchet up some military health care fees and establish new fees.

Texas regional reporter Trish Choate can be reached at (202) 408-2709 or choatet@shns.com.